Difference between revisions of "Sepulchre-class Battlecruiser"

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The Sepulchre-class Battlecruiser is the closest ship the Inquisitoriate has to a full-fledged Heavy Cruiser. These ships are used primarily to act in planetary assaults against systems that in open rebellion or when the Inquisitoriate is actively hunting rebel warships.

Contrary to the style massive Star Destroyers where hundreds of guns are in fixed fire arcs, most weapons batteries on a Sepulchre have multiple fire arcs in order to bring a large percentage of the ship’s armaments to bear and to cut down on the sheer number of weapons needed. As with other Inquisitorial warships, many weapons systems are designed to cripple enemy vessels rather than destroy them. The combined force of six of these drives and the immense power produced by a pair of “Viper” Mk2 Reactors give the Sepulchre unparalleled speed and maneuverability for a ship of its size. The massive amounts of energy produced by the reactors also allow for strong shields and the heavily automated systems throughout the ship.

The on board compliment includes three full squadrons of Shades with neural implant augmented pilots and a octet of modified TIE Interdictors for situations requiring the use of heavy bomber craft. Also included are several assault shuttles for boarding actions as well as a squadron of gunships for planetary assault. If a planet is too well defended by anti-aircraft to risk sending in the limited supply of gunships, there are enough orbital drop pods to safely deliver up to 10 full squads of Inquisitorial troopers to a planet’s surface.

The ship is essentially split into three sections. The first and largest, is the huge scythe-like disk that serves as the primary weapon platform. Second and smallest is the only area holding life support consisting of the pyramid shaped command decks and the internal barracks, holding cells, mess hall, and launchbays. Third and final is the engineering section, buried deep under many layers of heavy durasteel battleplate. In order to keep this area from falling to any possible boarding parties, the entire area is completely void of any life-support. A small number of engineers in pressure suits with the of maintenance and operator droids along with the guidance of the shipboard AI keep everything running at 100% efficiency.

The Advanced systems on this class makes it one of the most allusive and deadly ships in the Imperial arsenal. The Wisper Trust Drive System is produced by Rendili StarDrive, and was originally used only on military starships. It allowed a ship to move through realspace without emitting energy waves, making the ship run silently. The Vanish 1 Sensor Mask Combines lectromagnetic and holographic transmissions to "hide" a starship from most sensors. This device didn't absorb sensor beams but, rather, disrupted them by sending back information on the environment surrounding a starship. The Vanish 2 made a ship virtually disappear by sending back sensor data about the starfield around it.

The Inquisitoriate, while an influential power in its own right, does not have the sheer numbers that the Imperial Navy does, and as such, it is impractical for them have large crews aboard their vessels. An artificial intelligence is implemented to run and coordinate all the menial computer and technical work throughout the ship, a task normally requiring hundreds if not thousands of human crew. At the same time, the A.I. is also capable of plotting hyperspace courses, take care of fire-control stations normally reserved for gunners, control ship defenses and a myriad of other functions. Each AI is essentially a free thinking sentient being with a distinct and unique personality as any individual in the galaxy. But at the same time it is a computer program with infinitely higher processing capabilities than any human. Because of this it is not uncommon for an AI to become corrupt over time. In case of a ‘rebellion’ from the AI, a fail-safe has been hard-wired into the AI’s basic programming that will instantly delete it if it becomes hostile to the crew.

Current tests and analysis put the average lifespan of such a shipboard AI at four years before it must be deleted.

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